Telephone dial illuminator



y 1934- M. FRITTS 1,966,495

' TELEPHONE DIAL ILLUMINATOR 'Filed Sept... 28,-1932 l/VVENTOR M. m/rrs ATTORNEY Patented July 17, 1934 Y UNITED, sr-ArEs PATENT r 1,968,495. TELEPHONE DIAL ILLUMINATQ Morris mm, Bloomfield, n. 1., mm 'to- Bell 7 -'.lelephone Laboratories, Incorporated, New

York, N. Y., a corporation of Newlork Application September 2a, 1932, Serial No. 635,174 2 Claims. (Cl. 240-217) This invention relates to systems of fllumina- 'Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the dial shown in tion and particularly to telephone dial illumi- Fig. l; and nators. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the dial.

The general tendency towards subduedlighting shown in Figs. 1 and 2 with certain of the operateffects in present day homes, apartment houses ing parts omitted and showing the manner in and the like, renders the use of the dial telephone which the light source located on the underside an inconvenience in that the subscriber has diioi the dial casing serves to illuminate the dial ficulty in quickly and conveniently locating the number plate located on the top of the dial casing. various digits on the dial number plate. The The telephone dial shown in the drawing is of I 0 same annoyance is experienced in telephone a type similar to that shown in U. 8. Patent booths in spite of the efforts madeto light the 1,860,535, issued May 31, 1932 to H. W. Goff. It booths, primarily because of the fact that the is believed unnecessary to enter into any denumber plate of the dial is located immediately scription of the operation or the dial or of the beneath the dial finger wheel which has a tendvarious operating parts, except in so far as is 1 ency to shade or obscure the digits irrespective necessary for a complete understanding of the 70,

of the location of the-auxiliary light sources'hereinvention. tofore employed. Referring to the threeilgures generally, and -In an attempt to provide-suitable dial illuminato Fig. 3 particularly, it will be noted that the tion heretofore, numerous and varied devices parts 0! the dial which correspond to similar have been devised. .It is not uncommon to mount parts described in the above identified patent are l5v a lamp on the telephone standard in superposed given the same numerical identification assigned relation to the dial so that the light rays from to them in the patent drawing. This is done to the lamp are castdh'ectly upon the dial. Ansimplify thedescription and at the same time other method of dial illumination resorted to is render it possible for anyone wishing it, to obtain embodied in the pr'ovision oi a translucent numa complete detailed description oi the various her plate with a suitable light source beneath it. parts and their functions. v I These and other similar devices have the objec- The dial casing 10, substantially cup-shaped,

v tions that the present type dial must either be houses the dial operating mechanism and is promaterially altered to provide for the mounting of vided with an annular number plate 40 which is the-light source or the present type number plate held in position on the casing by meansot the as must be abandoned and replaced by one having clamping ring 37, the outer periphery of the translucent characteristics or else some unsightly number plate resting on a circular shoulder porreflecting medium must be secured'to the dial or tion of the casing. A ratchet wheel'23, the purto the telephone standard, all of which materially pose of which is fully explained in the U. S. patent add to the expense of the subscriber's equipment referred to'above, is housedwithin the casing 10 and, in some cases, detract from the appearance and is provided with a plurality of spokes, the and operating efficiency of the dial. spaces between adjacent spokes permitting the It is the objec 9 this v tion to provide a passage of light rays from the source 11 as will telephone dial illuminating d vic which is an appear tromalater description. The finger wheel integral part of the dial and which necessitates 14 is secured to the centrally located dial shaft in 5 I10 material changes n dial. s g the well-known manner and is adapted to rotate This object is attained in accordance with a with the shaft, clockwise during the setting of feature of the invention by utilizing the dial the dial and counter-clockwise under the action casing and dial finger wheel as reflectors in a of spring 1'1 when the flnger wheel is released. system of reflectors, to cause light rays emanat- The under surfaces of the finger wheel 14 and 10 ing from a suitably located light source to be number plate 40 as well as the inside surface of indirectly reflected upon the surface of the dial the casing 10 are finished in white or some other number plate. highly reflecting color for a purp se which will The invention will be readily understood from presently appear. 3 the following detailed description made with Secured to the underside of the base of leasing reference tothe accompanying drawing in which: 10 by means of screws 15 immediately below an Fig. -1 is a bottom plan view of a telephone aperture 20 in the casing base, is a combination dial showing the location of the light source and lamp socket and reflector support 16. The screws the manner of securing it to the base of the dial 15 engage tapped holes in the base of the casing.

5 casing; The support 16 may be of any desirable form and 1 material and is shown supporting a parabolic reflector 19 which serves to reflect the rays emanating from lamp 18 in a manner most beneficial for the purpose of illuminating the number plate 40.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3 it will be noted that some of the light rays emanating from the 1amp'18 are reflected by the reflector 19 directly upon the under surface of the finger wheel by which they are'again reflected upon the upper face of the number plate to effect an indirect illumination thereof, whereas others impinge first on the under surface of the number plate, then on the inside surfaces of the casing and thence on the upper surface of the number plate by way of the under surface of the finger wheel.

All the reflected light from the source 18 that serves to illuminate the upper face of the number plate is indirectly transmitted to the number plate thereby furnishing a soft and pleasing effect -with sufiicient intensity to provide satisfactory illumination of the digits on the dial number plate.

It is understood that some of the light rays emanating from the source 18 are interrupted by spokes of the ratchet wheel 23 during its rotation, but since this occurs so rapidly the eiiect is negligible, and also at a time when it is not necessary to observe the dial digits. rest, that is when it is necessary to locate a desired digit and the corresponding finger hole the spokes of the wheel 23*do not interfere with the light rays.

The finger wheel 14, number plate 40 and casing 10 only are shown treated in such a manner as to present highly reflecting surfaces. It is understood that other portions of the mechanism housed in the dial casing might be treated in like manner without departing from the spirit of this invention.

- From the foregoing description, it is apparent that this invention provides. a distinct advance in the art of dial illumination in that the only alterations in the dial structure necessary are the two tapped holes which accommodate the screws 15,

When the dial is at and the aperture 20, and also in that there is provided means for eflecting the indirect illumination of the dial number plate without the addition of any auxiliary reflectors, the, system of reflectors being composed entirely of parts already embodied in the dial structure. It is also evident that the light source 18 and its associated reflector 19 may be readily applied to the dial structure with a minimum of effort and the equip ment does not in any manner interfere with other parts of the dial or with the operation thereof.

The indirect illumination of the dial number plate by means of a system of reflectors composed of essential dial elements, such as the dial casing and finger wheel, may also be effected by mount ing the light source within the casing as well as externally thereof. Such a modification comes within the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a telephone dial including a casing enclosing the dial mechanism and having an aperture therein, a number plate supported on said casing, a rotatable finger wheel in superposed relation to said number plate, a light source secured to the underside of said casing in close proximity to said aperture and a system of reflectors for indirectly reflecting the light emanating from said source to said number plate by way of said aperture, said finger wheel constituting a part of said system of reflectors.

2. In combination, a telephone dial including a casing enclosing the dial mechanism and having an aperture therein, a number plate supported on said casing, a rotatable finger wheel in super- 

